Safety release for animal trap

Abstract

Keeper means for facilitating the removal of an arm of a coil spring actuator from a rotating frame type of animal trap. The keeper is an elongated sleeve one end of which slips over the end of the open ring which is disposed at the terminus of one arm of the coil spring actuator. The other end of the sleeve is slotted on opposite sides in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the sleeve to accommodate the arm of the spring transverse to said axis. Thereby affecting closure of the ring. The engagement between the sleeve and arm is maintained by a cotter pin which passes through the end of the sleeve. The sleeve can be disengaged easily by removing the cotter pin and sliding the sleeve back over the ring thereby opening the ring so that it can be removed from the side of the trap.

Accordingly, what is claimed is: 
     
       1. A trap comprising two similar frame-shaped jaws, each of said jaws having opposite frame ends, pivot means pivotally connecting said frame ends of one of said jaws to the respective frame ends of the other of said jaws intermediate said frame sides for pivoting said frame-shaped jaws about a common pivot axis between a sprung position in which the opposite frame sides of one jaw are in adjacent relation with the respective frame sides of said other jaw, and a set position in which the respective frame sides of the two jaws are in opposite adjacent relation, spring means comprising a coil spring member with two projecting arms each of which terminates in a ring member which slidably engages around a respective pair of pitvotally connected frame ends for biasing said frame-shaped jaws around said pivot means from said set position to said sprung condition; one of said ring members which terminates a projecting arm of the spring being a closed ring and the other of said ring members being an open ring with its opening being sufficient to permit passage of said frame side there through, the open end of said ring member engaging one end of an elongated tubular sleeve, the other end of which is slotted on opposing sides in a direction longitudinal to the axis of the tubular member to engage transversely the arm of the spring on which said open ring is disposed and locking means at the slotted end of said tubular sleeve to maintain said arm and sleeve in engagement, and a trigger means extending between said frame-shaped jaws for releasing said frames from the set to the sprung position when releasing pressure is applied to said trigger means. 
     
     
       2. The trap of claim 1 in which said tubular sleeve has a curvature along its longitudinal axis which is the same as that of the open ring. 
     
     
       3. The trap of claim 1, wherein said locking means is a cotter pin. 
     
     
       4. Easily releasible safety keeper means for a trap of the rotating frame type having spring means comprising projecting arms, each arm having a terminal ring slidingly engaging the frames of the trap, one of said rings being partially open; said keeper means comprising an elongated tubular sleeve having a curvature approximately equal to that of said ring, one end of said sleeve being slotted on opposing sides in a direction longitudinal to the axis of the sleeve, the other end of said sleeve being engaged by the open end of said partially open ring, said slotted end of said sleeve engaging transversely the arm of said spring, and means to releaseably lock said keeper means to said arm. 
     
     
       5. The easily releaseable safety keeper means of claim 4, wherein said locking means is a cotter pin.